My sister is getting married in August and she is probably going
to kill me for writing this post, BUT (gulp) here we go…

If you haven’t hit that age where all of your friends and cousins
have started getting married, don’t worry, in the next 2-4 years a whole flood
of save the dates and wedding invitations are going to start cluttering up your
refrigerator. At first you’ll feel flattered, but when you realize that it will
take a $400 plane ticket to attend most of them, reality will give you a swift
kick in the rear. While weddings are perceived as being full of dancing, drinking
and fun with friends, the ugly truth is that they can burn a SERIOUS hole in
your wallet!

That’s why I thought I would share with you guys an excerpt from
one of my favorite bloggers, T.J. Sullivan. Titled 26 Reasons You Shouldn’t Go
to the Wedding, T.J. lists some pretty hilarious reasons/excuses to get you out
of spending too much money on that not so deserving distant cousin’s wedding. NOTE:
You’ll notice I only shared 20 of his 26 because I do have to keep things
appropriate here on Young & Free, BUT if you want to see the full list, I
posted a link below.

Check it out!

1. It’s going to cost you an airfare and hotel expenses, and the
only way you can afford it is by putting it on a credit card.

2.
You know one of the people getting married, but not both.

3.
There’s someone you definitely don’t want to see at the wedding.

4.
You’ll be seated at the reception with a bunch of your friends you just saw at
another wedding a month ago.

5.
Two words: cash bar.

6.
Or worse: no bar.

7.
If you were going to have a wedding of 100 people, these people wouldn’t be on
your guest list.

8.
You haven’t had a real conversation with the person inviting you for two years
or more. Facebook doesn’t count.

9.
The money you would have to spend to attend this wedding could pay for a really
fun three or four-day vacation for you, and you haven’t had a real vacation
that you chose in more than a year. (Going home to see your folks doesn’t
count.)

10.
Because you have less than one month’s salary in savings. Honestly, you should
have three, but if you don’t even have one, you shouldn’t be spending to go to
this wedding.

11.
You’ll be expected to pay all the expenses for your significant other to attend
with you.

12.
Your significant other won’t know anyone at the wedding other than you, and
therefore will have to pretend to have fun.

13.
The couple is having their wedding at a destination they couldn’t have afforded
without someone’s parents picking up the bill. (That means you can’t afford it
either, and their parents aren’t paying your bill, are they?)

14.
Your primary reason for going is because another friend says, “You have to
go!” Bullshit. You don’t.

15.
Their wedding registry makes you want to punch a wall.

16.
You look at the wedding party and think, “What a bunch of jerks.”

17.
You realize that you are attending weddings instead of having an actual social
life.

18.
There is a wedding happening within three months that you’d rather attend.

19.
You are told, “It’s going to be mostly family and just a few friends.”
Yikes! Code fordull, dull, dull.

20.
You have any reason to believe that you were invited because they felt
obligated to invite you.

If you do decide to attend, just know that you don’t need to
arrive looking like Brad and Angelina. You are a wedding GUEST, not an Oscar
nominee on the red carpet. Don’t feel like you need to go ALL OUT just to
impress your friends. Trust me, if they are getting married in their 20’s they
probably know what it's like to struggle with a budget AND if they can’t cut
you some slack for showing up with a modest gift, they probably weren’t real
friends anyway.